Both Ways
by flippednique
Summary: "You go, I go right?" They were a couple of amateurs that clearly didn't know what they were doing. That didn't change the fact that if their goal was to terrify the students of Konoha Academy then they had already succeeded. "Stupid. I go, you go. It works both ways."


Sasuke looked up at the clouds in the sky though he was more focused on the beating heart behind his head. He wasn't sure… how long it would keep that way, beating.

It had been such a great surprise. The lunch he knew wasn't home made because he very well know that his redhead couldn't cook. Gaara set fire to water. How that was even possible he didn't know.

It was the thought that counted though, even if Gaara had had a hard time explaining just what the surprise had been for. Sasuke knew of course but he hadn't been expecting anything. He himself had just bought Gaara tickets to see "The Cab" next week end because he knew just how much the redhead loved the band.

Right now he had so many questions he wanted to ask. For now he settled on being content, laying against his boyfriend.

It wasn't necessary to say anything, since neither of them were big on words. The last time they'd ever had a heated conversation was the day Gaara had confessed, or at least tried to and Sasuke had read between the lines.

They were just perfect in that way that no one could understand. It was similar to how Sasuke knew that Gaara wanted to tell him something with this surprise of his other than the fact that it was their anniversary.

Someone had to start the conversation though. And by the mercy of any deity watching, Gaara would be the one to do it.

"Thank you for this." Was what Sasuke settled on. The deep exhale he received for his efforts was much appreciated on his half.

"Naruto helped me." Was the soft reply. "He even came up with what food I should pack and reasons as to why you'd like them."

"The idiot does his research." Sasuke conceded as he remembered the pizza they'd consumed. _Tomato goodness._

"He's a good friend." Gaara shuffled a bit, leading to Sasuke sitting up and the redhead followed suit. "I want to tell you something Sasuke."

"I'm all ears."

Gaara's face was blank, stoic as it always was even after a full minute went by without anything being said.

Sasuke being Sasuke huffed in annoyance and made his displeasure clear. "Sometime this century would be nice."

"I love you." Gaara deadpanned. "I was thinking of what emotion to use to say it but you clearly are just not patient enough."

Sasuke's neck flared with color and it crept all the way to his cheeks even as he glared at the redhead. "Well some of us don't have forever to live."

"Clearly, you are referring to me." Gaara glared back.

Sasuke bit his tongue and shook his head. "No. Bad joke."

"Hn." Gaara threw his arm around Sasuke's shoulder and pulled the redhead to his chest. "I mean it though Sasuke, I love you."

"Good." The Uchiha murmured. "… I can't say it yet."

"I'll wait." Gaara whispered. He didn't need to see Sasuke's face to know that the ravenhead was smiling.

Gaara didn't know how long they'd stayed that way, wrapped up in each other's arms, completely holed away in their own little world. It felt like a second had only passed when Sasuke wrenched himself from the red head's grip, eyes wide.

"Did you hear that?" He breathed, not daring to raise his voice.

Gaara blinked. "Hear what?"

Sasuke bit his lip and tilted his head to the right. "_That."_

"I don't hear anything." Gaara answered but stood up anyways to check out whatever it was his boyfriend had heard. Said boyfriend's grip on his pants kept him from doing so.

"Don't stand." Sasuke whispered frantically. "Anyone can see us from up here. Keep your head down. If what I heard is what I think I heard you're not gonna want to show it any time soon."

If Gaara could raise an eyebrow he would but he simply settled for watching his boyfriend creep on all fours to the edge of the roof and raise his head as lowly as he could.

The moment Sasuke's head ducked back down, Gaara was by his side, wondering what could have made Sasuke turn so pale as if he'd just seen a ghost.

The redhead made a move to look over the roof edge as well but Sasuke gripped his shirt this time and the ravenhead was shaking his head. "Don't…"

"I can't fight it if I don't know what it is." Gaara reasoned and placed a firm hand over Sasuke's before inching his way up.

He wish he'd listened to Sasuke as the sight of the body on the ground made his blood turn cold. He could have pretended that that was a puddle of mud on the ground beside it if not for the man looming over the body.

Gaara ducked his head back down and took in a deep breath. He was very proud of his excellent eye sight, often teasing Sasuke about the ravenhead's reading glasses whenever he could. He'd also hadn't seen one of those since he was but a child, but he recognized it with just one look.

There was a man in the school grounds that day. A man with a gun.

* * *

They were a couple of amateurs that clearly didn't know what they were doing. That didn't change the fact that if their goal was to terrify the students of Konoha Academy then they had already succeeded.

Sasori looked around the classroom that held not just him but at least thirteen other students. Compared to him, these were all babies. The youngest in the class he'd been watching over was no older then fourteen while he was the eldest at nineteen.

How today had started off so typically only for it to turn so quickly was beside the redhead as he again swept an unyielding gaze around the room. His cell phone buzzed and he flipped the top, the screen bright. There was no reception, and fuck if that didn't make things harder for them. The school's networking system was the only thing keeping them in contact but none of them had any idea as to what and who they were facing.

It could have been a plain idiot with a gun or someone who knew his gadgets and could trace you when you sent messages through the system. Konan risked herself sending that one message, and Sasori couldn't help but curse her for it.

'_Don't know who they are or what they're after. Pein says not to leave whatever room you're in. Keep yourself safe, don't do anything stupid.' _

Sasori stared at the message and took in a deep breath. At least he now knew where Konan was. He knew that she was safe and with Pein. That didn't help that he had seven other people to worry about, wondering where they were as the shooter walked through the building.

They didn't even know which building the man was in. Sasori let a frown pull on his lips as the grip on his phone tightened. He was hoping that the shooter wasn't in the Arts building. He was sure that at least three of the members of the Akatsuki were in it as well.

Oh yes, he could think of where the others could be. It was after lunch, Kisame wouldn't be allowed to go into the pool until a little after one so he should be with Itachi who's teaching his little brother's Gym class. Hidan should be in the medical building, hopefully where Pein and Konan were helping with the annual checkups since it was also a Tuesday and they both had free periods until dismissal on Tuesday's. Sasori's breath caught when he thought of Zetsu and Kakuzu who would usually be tending the plants and flowers out on the school grounds every chance they could. It wouldn't be surprising if one of them was out there… with the man who had a gun on the loose.

"Sasori-sensei." The redhead turned and came face to face with fierce blue eyes. He knew what was going to be asked of him and he couldn't risk it.

"No."

Uzumaki's eyes glared at his student teacher and he shook his head. "I wasn't asking for your permission."

"Do you think there's a snowball's chance in hell that I'm letting you out of this room?" Sasori asked. "Think carefully Naruto, none of the teachers are roaming the halls. They're all in the teacher's lounge since it's only a little after lunch and they usually get thirty minutes to themselves before they start to make their ways to their respective classes. The announcement earlier about the shooter didn't come from the Principal's office, it came from the guard house. That means that Namikaze-sensei isn't there either. Don't do anything rash and go running out into danger when you're perfectly safe here."

"It's not just my Dad!" Uzumaki cried as he gripped fistfuls of blonde hair. "It's Sasuke and Gaara! They both have gym right now but it's their anniversary. Gaara wanted to do something for Sasuke and they were supposed to cut classes! I need to find them and warn them!"

"The announcement was broadcasted all over school." Inuzuka cut in, his gaze dancing between Sasori and Uzumaki. "They probably know all about the shooter."

"Not if they were on the roof." Uzumaki deadpanned. "Gaara thought about being romantic for once and set up a picnic on the roof. The roof doesn't have any speakers, they're still probably up there and you know how Sasuke is, Kiba. Anniversary or not he'll be rushing into Gym especially with his brother being the assistant teacher before the hour's up! What if he runs into the shooter? What if- what if-?!"

"Calm yourself."Sasori snapped and placed both of his hands on the blonde's heaving shoulders. He then pushed the boy into Inuzuka's arms who then pushed the blonde down to sit on the floor.

The tensed and silent atmosphere broke and panic seemed to overwhelm each and every student in Sasori's class. He cursed and griped his phone before sending a message, risking his and about everyone else's lives.

His phone vibrated not five minutes later.

_'Sasuke's fine, traumatized but fine. Sabaku isn't doing too good. I think he's in shock. Itachi's having a hard time calming his brother and Sabaku down. I think the kid might go into cardiac arrest. He's got a heart disease remember? Anyways, don't go anywhere. I sent messages to everyone too, we're all safe and fine. Let's keep it that way.' _

Sasori nodded to himself. He turned to Uzumaki and related the message, and thankfully it calmed the blonde down enough that he was simply leaning heavily against Inuzuka's shoulder. The brunette wrapped an arm around Uzumaki and kept it there.

_'Let's keep it that way.' _

Sasori ran a hand through his red hair and huffed out a breath. He didn't know what to do, even if Kisame said that everyone was fine he didn't know for sure. But he couldn't leave his students alone, even if some of them were only a year younger than him.

Again his phone vibrated and he stared long and hard at the screen before shivers wracked his spine and silence reigned over the classroom.

There were footsteps out in the hall. **Someone** was out in the hall.

Sasori's blood turned cold.

'_You're still in room 253 right? I'm coming for you Sasori-danna. Don't move.'_

* * *

Deidara gritt his teeth as he did his best to remain unseen. He'd give anything if the floor underneath his hiding spot would just suddenly disappear or melt. Anything to get him out of there.

What had he been thinking? Hiding under the damn table was a suicidal move! If Sasori were here he'd get a look and a verbal tongue lashing, he was sure of it. But then the redhead would do something and get them out of there.

"Check the back closets." A high voice snapped. Deidara wished he could stop hiding, the shooters had a girl. If he could just take her and use her as a hostage... No, not gonna work. Dammit.

Deidara shrunk on himself, it wasn't like him to hide from a fight but aside from that there was a girl out there he had no other clues as to what he would be facing.

"Nobody's here." A different voice snapped. There was the sound of a frustrated growl that Deidara couldn't help but notice came from someone close enough. "Let's go."

"Hold up, just gotta get a good sweep of the front."

"What for?"

"Just in case."

The vibration of his phone sent his blood to turn into ice and his breathing stopped altogether. A pair of leather boots came into his line of vision and Deidara saw one hand that had a loose hold on a gun.

_Oh shit un!_

* * *

Itachi was getting just a little bit desperate. He glanced at his little brother who was sitting stiffly beside the Sabaku boy. He never truly approved of Gaara. The teen was too moody, too silent, to angst-filled, and he could just do with a little sunshine in his life. But that didn't mean that he couldn't see how much Sasuke cared about him.

What the two were doing up on the roof (which he had only found out after he'd ran all over the campus) he still didn't know and by damn if he wasn't going to find out even if he had to squeeze it out of his little brother as a last resort!

"Stop it Itachi." Kisame spun the ball in his hand, not even bothering to glance at the fuming ravenhead.

Itachi huffed and turned from his pacing. "Stop what? I'm not doing anything."

"Yeah right." Kisame chuckled. "There's a shooter somewhere, hopefully not, in the building. Now is not the time to think of how to castrate Sabaku cause he and Sasuke were alone on the roof. The kid's pretty shaken up."

"Tch." Itachi huffed again. "That is so not an excuse for him to place his hands on my little brother. When they got together we had a deal."

Kisame raised a brow. "And does Sasuke know about this little deal?"

"He will eventually."

"I see." Kisame tossed the ball from one hand to the other. "Your funeral."

Itachi glared at Kisame before halting his pacing and glancing back at his brother and the redhead. If he found out that Sabaku was faking that traumatizing act then he was going to kill him facing his brother's anger be damned. There were other people worth Sasuke, some even better compared to Gaara.

But the kid did seem pretty terrified. What had happened out there?

Itachi ran a hand over his hair, not really capable of running _through_ it lest he wanted to ruin the ponytail he'd slaved to get right. The band wasn't too tight or too lose so that when he went and shot a few baskets they would be done so pain free. Not that they'd gotten to shoot any baskets today, no thanks to the damn situation.

"How are we so sure there are shooters in the school anyway?" Itachi snapped and resumed his pacing. "What if this is just a drill? I mean, who goes around broadcasting that their taking a school hostage? Why not fire a few bullets and make a statement?"

Kisame's other eyebrow now lifted. "Do you want any wayward bullets meeting clueless students? No? Well me too."

Itachi inwardly cringed at the annoyed tone Kisame used. He knew that he was being infuriating. It was a side that no one aside from Kisame or his mother had seen. Not even Sasuke knew just how annoying Itachi could be if he wanted to be.

A firm grip on his waist sent Itachi tumbling to the ground. He braced himself and leaned against the solid wall of muscle that caught his fall and he sagged against Kisame.

"I know that you're panicking Itachi, believe me I want to too." Kisame mumbled. "But you're not helping anyone. Not Sasuke, not your students, and definitely not yourself."

"I can't help it." Itachi grumbled.

"You should." Kisame chuckled. "Aren't you an Uchiha? Don't you pride yourselves for being unfeeling bastards?"

"Hn."

"That's the spirit." Kisame lowered his head and rested it against the nape of Itachi's neck, taking in a deep breath. Truthfully, he could still feel how tensed the ravenhead was even when he was sitting on his lap.

"Kisame…"

"Yeah?"

"I'm scared."

"Don't say that." Kisame shuffled a bit so that he could have Itachi facing him, or the best he could do was locking eyes with the Uchiha who wasn't doing anything to avoid meeting his gaze. "If you start spewing things that you don't do on a normal day the end of the world might just be on its way yet."

"Hn." Itachi's lips twitched a bit but didn't do anything more than that. Finally, Kisame could feel Itachi melt against him and he resolutely sagged against the wall.

Itachi's gaze swept over the hall and he watched all twenty-seven of his students cowering with their friends in a great big circle in the middle of the quad. Haruno was in the center, and for once Itachi appreciated the girl's confident farce.

He didn't know just how strong he could be right now, not when his little brother was trapped in the school with him. If Sasuke were somewhere else then he might be able to put on a brave face.

"Don't panic on me Itachi… Don't wanna lose you. I can't afford to lose you."

Itachi focused on the calming presence of his boyfriend who was also here, trapped with the rest of them. On second though he still wouldn't be able to put on a brave face after all.

"You won't." Itachi mumbled. And he meant it. Even if it wasn't for his sake then Sasuke's. Never before had he lied to Kisame. "I'll do my best to stay alive."

"You better."

"Hn." Itachi went quiet for a while. "Kisame?"

"What now Itachi?"

"We have to get out of here." The ravenhead mumbled. "We can't stay here, we'll be lambs waiting for slaughter."

Kisame took in a the panicked look on Itachi's face and shook his head condescendingly. "Itachi, it's a shooting not a massacre. They're after someone but not everyone. We can't risk these people's lives."

Itachi glared. "Out of everyone in this school who do you think those shooters are most likely after?"

Kisame shrugged. "It could be anyone."

"It could be me." Itachi glared even harder at the disbelieving look on Kisame's face. "My being here is very public. My Father's announced it to the whole of Japan. If it's not me then it could be Sasuke or hell it could be Uzumaki. Either way they want one of us and whether you help or not I will do something about it."

"You've reached your daily quota of words." Kisame huffed but inwardly cried at the decided look on Itachi's face. "All right, we'll go."

"Now." Itachi nodded and moved to stand up. The hand that pulled him back down was shaken off right after. "What?"

Kisame stared at him for a moment, with an intensity that sent his cheeks to flush a slight red.

"If we live through this," the taller man smirked. "_marry me."_

Itachi blinked before shaking his head, smiling. "Okay."

"Okay."

* * *

It was as if Deidara's heart had stopped beating but he still managed to swallow a breath as the boots continued their way.

"Damn it let's just get going! Kurama's gonna be pissed if we don't find the Uchiha before the hour's up!"

"I'm going Shukaku, I'm going." The reply was heated and equally frustrated and it was followed by the sound of a door clicking.

Deidara waited, not trusting anything he'd just heard. After a full minute of no movement and no more voices, he took in a small breath then shakily grabbed his phone. He flipped it open and read the text message.

_'Don't go anywhere you idiot. I don't want you getting hurt.'_

Deidara sighed and crawled out from under the table. He wished he hadn't sent Sasori any messages. He was sure that that's what lead the shooters to this room.

They'd somehow tracked him. And he would be damned if it was his fault that they would get to track Sasori. He stayed on the floor for a moment, waiting for his heart to get back to its usual pace only for it completely stop as footsteps sounded from outside the door.

Deidara couldn't move, his body frozen with nothing but fear to fuel its current state. Why wasn't he moving? _Fuck!_

For a moment he considered what he would say as his last words. His mind went blank as the door opened. Then he sagged against the body that had slammed against him nearly taking him to the floor.

"Sasori-danna!" Deidara ran shaking fingers through the redhead's hair, taking in deep breaths.

"I told you not to move." Sasori whispered. "I saw them come in here and for some reason I knew _you _were here."

"I needed to know that you were all right!" Deidara cried. He pulled back then began running his gaze over the redhead's face. He saw no scratches just that Sasori looked like he'd been scared ten years off of his life.

"By risking yours?" Sasori glared. "That was stupid brat! Don't ever do that again!"

"Yes danna, I won't un." Deidara pulled Sasori back into another hug and he closed his eyes just feeling his head reel.

"I thought I lost you Deidara." Sasori whispered. "They have guns. Sabaku saw them and evidently that's what shocked him the most. They'd already shot the guard by Gate-C."

"Yahiko?" Deidara gaped and his eyes hardened. "This is gonna kill Pein."

"Konan's taking care of him. Sabaku and Sasuke had enough sense tell Itachi where Yahiko was and before anything could be said Kakuzu and Zetsu appear in the medical building." Sasori said. He then stood and helped the blonde off his feet. "We've been sending each other messages, risky as it is. We're not sure but Pein thinks they can't track us. You need a student ID to get into the system."

Deidara thought about it. "But you said they got Yahiko. He has a faculty ID that you can use to enter the administrative system."

"Good point." Sasori frowned but he pulled his phone out anyways. He read the message that had been sent to him before he looked up at Deidara who was busy reading his own.

The blonde's head snapped up and a blue eye went wide with shock. "They can't be serious, un!"

"It's worth a try." Sasori bit on his lip, a show of uncharacteristic nervousness. "It's better than sitting here just waiting to get shot."

"Oh, is it now?" Deidara drawled. "You'd rather we make a break for it and become inevitable targets than stay here where the chances of being actual targets are as low as sand. Uh huh, this is coming from the guy who gets mad at me for running to him to make sure he's all right!"

"We're not making a break for it!" Sasori snapped. "We're going to get help. And it's not us that's going to do the running. Itachi and Kisame have volunteered. Pein thinks they're after Itachi. We have to get him out of the building."

"Why would they be after Itachi?" Deidara frowned.

"Uchiha-san fired a lot of employees last month to cut back after the losses their company over took." Sasori said. "I think this could be suitable revenge."

"Too farfetched." Deidara argued.

"Does it matter?" Sasori cried. "We just need to do something! Even if they aren't after Itachi or Sasuke, they're still faster than anyone of us. And they're both at the gym."

"Two blocks away from a gate." Deidara realized. "But the gym is right in front of our building. They'd have to cut across the court yard and the shooters will still be able to see them!"

"Yes that's where we come in." Sasori's eyebrows furrowed. He lifted his phone which had a longer message than Deidara had gotten because his had been cut off by the server.

The blonde reached a hand out and took the phone into his palm before giving it a thorough reading.

Sasori summarized the message in one simple sentence. "Your definition of art wins this time."

"Uh huh."

Then there was a hand slipping into his. "Let's go make a master piece."

"Boom." Deidara joked. The short laugh that had managed to grace his lips was cut off as Sasori stared at him with pained brown eyes.

"Don't do anything stupid." Sasori said.

Deidara stared at him for a moment and smiled before twining their fingers. "Hey… I won't be like everybody else Sasori-danna."

"What do you mean?" Sasori asked.

"You know," Deidara shrugged. "Leaving you when they promised you forever. I won't be like that, only you are allowed to rid the world of me. And if you go, I'll still be with you."

"Don't make promises you can't keep Deidara." Sasori tried to pull his hand from Deidara's grip but the blonde held firm.

"I'm serious, un." Deidara smiled warmly at the redhead. "You go then I go. Okay?"

Sasori closed his eyes. Now _that _was farfetched. "Okay…"

* * *

Pein stared at the computer screen in front of him as he tracked down every single member of his council. No one was where they weren't supposed to be and the only problem was that he had no idea where the enemy was.

The tracking devices he had installed into everyone's phones proved to be useful. He could map everything out on his computer as if it were all a game. What was hard was that he was blindly fighting against forces of a deadly nature. He was weaponless and they (he assumed) were shooting to kill.

"I can't believe it." Konan had been whispering as she paced around the room. Pein was doing his best to block her out as she stressed over the fact that their friend was on the metal table in the room.

Bloodied gloves rested in a bowl of equally bloodied water but she had done it. Yahiko lost blood but he would live to see another day. The bullet had gone straight through and it was just the pain that had their friend incapable of waking.

Pein's resolve was strengthened when Konan stood behind him, a solid steady presence urging him on. He waited for the time he was sure their plan would work before he sent everyone a message.

'_Now.'_

* * *

"What are you doing? I told you to stay back!" Sasori's eyes widened and he gaped as the blonde sent him a smirk.

"Do you think I'd let you get all the glory for yourself, hmm?" Deidara stuck his tongue out. "You go, I go. Right _danna_?"

Sasori's eyes sharpened into a full glare and it took all of him not to break into a full rant, as out of character as it would be. How many times did he have to tell Deidara to stay back for the brat to actually stay back? Was it so hard to follow his orders? Did the blonde not have enough brain cells left due to his experiments with explosions left to follow them?

"Don't look at me that way." Deidara swept back his bang and looked at the redhead for a moment. Time seemed to slow as he placed a hand on Sasori's pale cheek and pressed his lips to his forehead. "Don't go into the light, okay Sasori? Promise me."

Sasori pulled away. "Idiot. You're my partner. I go, you go… it works both ways."

"Good." Deidara grinned and rose from his crouching stance. He was about to get back to his feet when a tight grip on his arm stopped him. Brown eyes kept him from saying anything, and again time seemed to stand still.

"Don't die."

Deidara smiled. "I won't. Now, let's get this show on the road, yeah?"

* * *

_"Where the hell do you think you're going?"_

_"Shit! Faster Itachi!"_

_"Itachi? Fuck- that's the kid! Get him!"_

_"Boom!"_

_"What the-"_

_"Watch out!"_

* * *

Deidara couldn't believe it. Sasori was smiling. The bastard was smiling!

"Don't do it Sasori!" Deidara cried as he struggled to get out of Itachi's arms. The raven head refused to let him go, refused to let him run to Sasori's side. "Don't go into the fucking light un! You promised me dammit!"

"You have to get him out of here if he's gonna keep that up." Tsunade frowned at the catatonic blonde. She didn't care if what the rumors said about his relationship with Sasori. What she did care about was that the redhead was her _patient_ and she was not going to tolerate emotional reactions while she was working hard to keep said patient alive.

"I don't think we can." Konan turned away from Deidara, her heart breaking. She couldn't keep watching her friend be like this. And she couldn't look to her left either because then she'd see Sasori. Cool and calm Sasori who had never wanted much in the world. Just to be loved. Even if the boy didn't know it, that was all Sasori ever really needed.

"No! Let go of me Uchiha un! I will kill you dammit, don't think I fucking won't!" Deidara thrashed even more in Itachi's hold, enough that the ravenhead stumbled backwards, nearly knocking into Kisame who was on his way to help restrain the blonde.

Konan pressed her back against Pein's chest as Deidara flung himself against the glass wall separating the Akatsuki from Sasori. The blonde's chest tightened at seeing his partner, his best friend whether the redhead wanted to admit it or not, strapped immobilized to the bed. He growled and nearly slammed his clenched fists against the glass wall had a grip on his shirt not sent him scrambling backwards if he didn't want to choke.

Itachi had again gotten hold of him and he growled even more. He wanted to be let go. He hated the Uchiha even more than before!

"Watch it brat!" Tsunade barked, watching shocked as that seemed to placate the blonde.

Deidara froze mid swing of sending a fist into Itachi's head (or at least that was his plan) at the chosen word. His vision blurred for a moment and for once he didn't stop the tears. _Brat. Brat. Brat. Bratbratbrat. _

Itachi too was sent back as the blonde crumpled in his arms, knees buckling so much that the Uchiha let the boy slide down to the floor.

"Deidara…" Itachi placed a hand on the younger boy's shoulder and gave it a firm squeeze. "Don't make a scene. Sasori wouldn't like this."

"As if what he likes matters now!" Deidara choked. "H-He's strapped to a bed and not moving and that's not right! We made a promise, un. He goes then I go- I should be strapped to a bed too!"

"That _can_ be arranged." Tsunade supplied but the blonde didn't seem to hear her.

"What he did was selfish!" Deidara continued. "He shouldn't have shoved me out of the room! I was there because he's my _Master _and I'm supposed to be the willing servant. He's the only person whose ever made me think differently and I just want… I want…"

_'You're too young to be in the Akatsuki. The students will eat you alive.'_

_'Really now? According to Pein you're my partner and since you're my partner you'll have to show me the ropes and protect me, un.'_

_'I don't have time to look after brats. Find a willing baby sitter.' _

_'Oh come on! I'll be a good little servant Sasori-danna! I'll do everything you'll tell me to do, yeah?!'_

_'Why do I not believe that?' _

_'Trust me, un!'_

"_I want Sasori_." Deidara breathed, looking at Tsunade. "I just wanna… I wanna be with him. Please, un. You said… You said he might not… and I just wanna, I wanna remind him that I'm still here. Despite what he says about believing that being forever is what art's supposed to be… I know that he doesn't believe it. Forever with his parents ended when he was nine, forever with his grandmother ended when he was fifteen, forever in Suna ended when he was sevenhteen. Please, un. Just let me… let me be there with him, hmm?"

Tsunade sighed.

* * *

Sasori didn't know where to turn. Everything was warm, everything was nice. It sickened him. The last time he'd felt this way was when he'd been a child, in his mother's arms. It was strange that he could remember feeling that way when he couldn't remember how his father taught him to build his first puppet or how his mother made him lunch every day when he started going to the Academy.

Of course he could be lying to himself. In fact, he knew that he was lying to himself.

The last time Sasori had felt so warm, had felt so nice and content was when he had been with Deidara.

The blonde wasn't fooling anyone with how cool and calm he liked to pretend he was. Deidara was loud mouthed and hot tempered. Someone who had so much potential and a talent that ought to be treasured. Sasori felt bad that no one else could see that.

* * *

_"I don't want your first time to hurt… do you trust me?" Sasori could feel his cheeks flush, and what the hell was he doing blushing when they'd finally gotten this far? The warmth of the hand sliding down his stomach then lower down his thigh had the flush going stronger and he glared at the blonde hovering over him. _

_"You're teasing." He huffed, turning his head as he couldn't find it in himself to stare into this bright blue eyes. The blonde bang usually covering it was now tucked away and he was overwhelmed by the emotions he saw swimming in those eyes._

_Deidara chuckled and leaned forward, nuzzling the redhead's neck. "That's only cause I love it when you're embarrassed like this, un. Don't really get to see it often." _

_Sasori glared. "Well I hate it. You know how I don't like feeling this way." _

_"Hmm…" Deidara pressed soft, lingering kisses on Sasori's neck and let his hands move again, enjoying the way the redhead softened against the bed spread. "I'll make you love it, Sasori-danna." _

_"You're an awful servant." Sasori mumbled, moving his head to capture Deidara's lips. _

_The blonde let himself be kissed, halted his hands even so that he could focus on this. Focus on Sasori, his partner, his master, and now, finally now, his lover. He sighed contentedly when the redhead pulled away._

_"I'll make it up to you." Deidara whispered, pressing his forehead against Sasori's. _

_"You always do."_

_"I love you so much." Deidara whispered as he pressed a lingering kiss on Sasori's lips. The redhead stared at him tired and sated through half lidded eyes. _

_"I love you too."_

* * *

Sasori looked around himself. Where had the warm feeling gone? Right now all he felt was that he was… _empty_. He couldn't even figure out where he was. The walls were a bare egg shell white and the only things he could actually focus on was the bed and the figure on it.

His breath hitched, or at least he thought it did because he felt it. What he saw in front of him contradicted that as his body was laid and an oxygen mask seemed to be the only thing keeping him breathing.

He remembered then what had happened. He had been at school and some idiots thought bringing a gun would be fun, threatening students and the Akatsuki's lives while they were at it. Their cell phones had no reception and the internet had been cut off, they needed help but didn't know how to get it. He and Deidara had gone and set off an explosion, giving Itachi and Kisame enough time and cover to get out of the school and to get help. Then there was a moment where he'd stared into the barrel of a gun, a warm presence pressed in front of him, a hand gripping his.

Deidara.

Sasori's chest tightened and he looked around. If he was in the hospital and apparently in a coma if he wasn't hallucinating, then where was the brat?

_"Don't do it Sasori! Don't go into the fucking light un!"_ There was a thrashing sound that drew Sasori's eyes to stare out the glass wall. His heart beat faster as he watched everything happen outside the wall. It was fitting. He could feel it, the glass under his fingers as he pressed a hand to touch it. He didn't know if he wanted to break it or why exactly he was touching it but it felt more like a reassurance.

A barrier.

Something keeping him away from his Deidara.

_"You promised me dammit!"_

Sasori took in a breath, but it felt wrong, shallow. He somewhat knew that he didn't need to keep breathing. He wasn't meant to be breathing. That's what the mask was for, to keep him alive, to give him time.

_"Please, un. Just let me… let me be there with him, hmm?" _

The time to say goodbye.

Sasori watched as the glass split into two, letting eight people he knew well inside the room. They crowded around the bed, around the shell of his body he'd never truly loved. Never truly appreciated. Right now what he would give to be back in it, to be able to wipe away the tears that fell down Konan's face, to feel the pinch Pein would definitely give him if he'd done so. Give Itachi a firm handshake for helping motivate him to be a better artist, Kisame that high five the boy had always hounded him for. So much, he wanted to do _so much_, but being what he could only assume was a floating conscience didn't give him much room to do anything but watch.

Watch as his friends start to let him go.

Did he want to go?

Yes. Maybe. No… no, not really.

He wanted to wake up.

_"Sasori-danna…"_

* * *

Deidara hesitated, a shaking, unsure hand hovering over Sasori's stiff arm. He then placed it lower to grasp the redhead's arm and for a moment didn't do anything but wait.

What he was waiting for, well, Deidara wasn't sure.

Tsunade had told them to say their goodbye's. That Sasori might not make it. He'd done something to himself, his mind repressing itself, shying away from everything that had happened. Deidara didn't mind that Sasori needed time to come back to him.

The doors to the room opened and a shaking nurse all but ran to Tsunade. Deidara watched as they shared a quick and heated conversation before the blonde let out a frustrated yell and proceeded to drag Itachi out of the room.

"Hey wait a minute!" Kisame called and speed walked after them.

"Sabaku's gone into cardiopulmonary arrest." Itachi's voice answered. "Sasuke's been sedated."

Deidara turned back to the redhead on the bed. He felt for Sasuke but now he needed to be near Sasori.

For all it was worth he murmured a very low and heartfelt "well shit" but made no move to leave.

* * *

"Deidara..." Sasori's eyes opened at half mast, lashes fluttering against pale cheeks.

Deidara sat up, his hands clenching the white sheets so tightly his own knuckles seemed to be the ashen color. "S-Sasori..."

The redhead stared at him for a moment before his eyes fell shut again. Deidara froze and wondered if someone was playing on him and he'd only imagined his baby waking up before a soothing hand gripped his and rubbed gently against his knuckles making them loosen their hold.

"Silly servant." Sasori whispered, his voice more noticeably raw.

The insult didn't even register. Deidara shook his head in an attempt to calm down. His vision blurred and he was sure his heart was ready to jump out of his chest.

"How have I wronged you Sasori-danna, hmm?"

The redhead smirked. "For one thing, I'm all cold and alone in this horrible bed. I think I need a personal heater... Preferably blonde and chatty, just to keep me occupied."

"I understand un." Deidara then proceeded to crawl into the bed as Sasori made space for him. He laid his head on the redhead's stomach. "Don't ever do that again Sasori-danna. No going back on your promises and leaving without me. You go, I go, remember?"

"I remember." Sasori smiled and gently carded stiff fingers through long blonde hair. "Dei..."

"Yeah baby?"

"Your advise sucks."

Deidara shoved himself to his elbows and he glared at the redhead. "Way to ruin the moment un!"

Sasori glared right back. "It does."

"What did I tell you that sucks so bad then? Enlighten me, hmm." Deidara chided.

Sasori's cheeks flushed a dull red at the intense glare in Deidara's eye (blonde bang hiding the other). "You said... Don't go into the light."

"So, un?"

"Idiot." Sasori craned his neck and pressed a light kiss to the blonde's lips. "What happens after an explosion? Light blinds you for a moment then after that..."

"After that?" Deidara prompted.

"I find you." Sasori whispered. "You always set off the damn explotions it's always you I see after being blinded."

"I don't follow you un."

"Seriously..." Sasori huffed. "Deidara makes an explosion. Deidara's explosion goes boom. After the boom comes a blinding light and when you follow the light, go into the light, you find the culprit who is almost always gonna be Deidara, who is you."

Deidara remained silent. "Was that supposed to be a riddle un?"

"Forget it." Sasori growled. He turned his head and closed his eyes missing the look of fear that made its way to Deidara's face.

"Sasori-danna." Deidara's voice trembled.

"Hmm..?" He laid his head on the redhead's shoulder and breathed out a sigh of relief.

"Nothing." Deidara whispered. "Just making sure you're still with me."

"Always." Sasori mumbled. "I go, you go."

"I know."

"Hmm…" Sasori let out a deep breath. "Brat?"

"Yeah?"

"You know I love you right?" Sasori waited patiently as Deidara arranged himself, lifting his head from the redhead's shoulder so that he could look at his face. Brown eyes betrayed no emotion as Sasori continued. "You know that even if I don't say it all the time?"

"What kinda question is that un? Of course I do!"

"Then you'll understand?" Sasori held Deidara's gaze, lifting one hand to push away the bang so he could meet Deidara's gaze full on. "You'll understand if I ask you to forget that promise? 'I go, you go'? That isn't fair."

"Saso-"

"It isn't fair if I hold you back." Sasori cut off. "It's not fair if I have to drag you with me. I told you Deidara, art is something eternal. Something that will make a difference and something that will be remembered."

"No un, art is only art when it's at its best state." Deidara argued. "Nothing can always be perfect for long. Art is something that'll only be there for a moment, something that will only leave you with a memory of its perfection. It will inspire you, surpass it, make something better."

"That's so not true." Sasori smirked.

Deidara glared even more. "Again, enlighten me un."

"Wouldn't you call us perfect?" Sasori asked. "Wouldn't you call what we have art?"

Deidara frowned. "… Yes."

"Then I'm right." Sasori whispered. "What we have _is _art. Unlike your childish excuse of pyrotechnics, we are_ eternal_. Because I'll always love you, and I'd like to believe that you'll always love me."

"Sasori-danna…"

"Deidara, you and I..." Sasori intertwined their fingers, gazing at the them rather fondly. "You and I are end game. You and I are _forever_. I go… you don't _need _to go."

"But…"

"Shh." Sasori pulled Deidara back down. "Just… give me a minute."

"Okay." Deidara closed his eyes. "Love you."

"I know."

* * *

Deidara huffed a bit of breath as he finally got to the meeting place. He ignored the silence he received for taking too long. The wind blew his hair and he raised a hand to stop his ponytail from going everywhere.

It had been two years since the incident that happened in Konoha Academy and the school seemed to have forgotten.

But many remembered it as if it were yesterday.

"You've missed a lot." Deidara started, leaning a bit against a tree. "Itachi and Kisame have finally done it un, sealed the deal I mean. Neither of them even told us until Kisame forced a ring on his finger and dragged him to find a priest. They're officially Hoshigaki and Uchiha now. Yeah, no name changes."

Deidara continued as he only received silence. He was getting a bit used to it.

"Then Sabaku's running for president. Imagine that danna, the kid's actually slowly and steadily crawling out of his shell un." Deidara grinned. "Sasuke will never say it but he's hoping it's because of him. Hell, would you even doubt it, hmm? No Sasuke, no outlet. Sabaku would die from being abstinent."

"Remember that kid of yours though? The blonde one." Deidara bit his lip. "…Uzumaki! That one, un. He's actually going against Sabaku. I'd like to see him try and win although I hear the school's pretty torn apart about who to vote."

"What else… I got a new partner." Deidara hummed as he glanced up and stared at red hair and unmoving brown eyes. He didn't know if the universe was hating on him or if this truly was someone's idea of a sick joke.

赤砂のサソリ

A strong force pulled on Deidara and almost instinctively, his hand crept and smacked his own chest. Stupid heart for being so stupid.

"Everyone's talking about Friday." Deidara murmured. "A lot of the first years are asking about you, un. _Who's Sasori-sensei? Where is he?_ It took me everything to not snap and tell them to shut up. They nag and whine and ask questions they shouldn't be asking un. Stupid selfish brats."

_Beloved_

"It's usually Sasuke who tells them. Says he owes you, un. I don't stop him. I can't. Itachi thinks the same, even if he hates Sabaku's guts, he respects the kid just as much as Sasuke respects you."

_son_

Deidara's vision blurred. "I mean, you gave the kid your heart, un."

He looked up and glared at the monument. "And you had no right. You had no right because your heart was _mine_. You gave me your fucking heart to me then you fucking gave it away!"

_student_

"I know that Sabaku needed it." Deidara moved away from the tree and stalked closer to the statue. "But he wasn't even _dying_, un!"

_teacher_

"You!" Deidara swung a fist and winced as soft and tender knuckles collided with hard marble. "You on the other hand, was in a comma, un! Not brain dead with a ninety percent chance of waking up and what do you do?"

_friend_

"You signed the god damn papers, un!" Another swing, another punch. It hurt, oh God did it _hurt_. "You left me without a fucking goodbye!"

_"That's so not true." _

"That didn't count." Deidara cried harshly. "That fucking dream didn't count, un. How can you even explain how that happened?"

_"Because __I'll always love you, and I'd like to believe that you'll always love me."_

"This is so messed up…" Deidara laughed bitterly and took in ragged breaths. He stared at the plaque bolted the statue's platform then wiped the salty tears that had fallen down his face. "So fucking messed up, un!"

_"I go… you don't **need **to go." _

"But I wanted to, un." Deidara whispered. "Still want too."

_"You know I love you right? You know that even if I don't say it all the time?" _

"I do." Deidara whispered. "But I still hate you. You promised. **You go, I go.**"

_"You and I are end game."_

Deidara sniffed and reached up and stroke the cold and unmoving face of the statue with a bruised hand. "Stupid danna."

_"You and I are forever."_

"I love you." Deidara whispered. "I don't wanna go without you. But I _do _understand. It's not only me, un, everybody else too. Friday will be all about you. Most of the people who'll come agree with you. That art is forever, un. That art is eternal. Just like you are, like you will be. Here, in our hearts, forever."

Deidara pulled away from the statue and gave it one long stare. Slowly, like clockwork, he pulled himself together. Built that face he never dropped in front others. It hurt to do so, to show everyone that he was _okay_.

What was a servant without his master? Where was his purpose? Deidara grit his teeth but quickly dropped it.

"Deidara-senpai! The kids are freaking out over the designs!" Tobi cried as the brunette rushed through the courtyard to his side. He hopped from place to place. "Tobi doesn't know what to do!"

"Tch, it's no good to panic Tobi." Deidara smirked. "You have to keep your cool in front of the brats or _the students will eat you alive.'_

"Tobi does not want to be eaten!"

"Then be off, un." Deidara smoothed his uniform shirt. "I'll be right after you."

"Tobi's gonna go, going, and gone! Zing~!"

Deidara waited and watched as the brunette did go. He shook his head and took in a deep breath before sparing the monument one more glance. "I have to go Sasori-danna. Don't really wanna, but kinda have to un."

Silence.

"I love you."

_"I know." _

* * *

_You go I go. Right?_

_Stupid. I go, you go. It works both ways._

* * *

**AN: **Well that was long. Exactly 9, 933 words without this author's note at the bottom. I need to add it in though because I have a few words to say!

**1**) If you count the words (or copy then paste them on MS Word) you'll see that it isn't 9, 993 words but only 9,000+ because I had to cut the lemon scene in it. If you wanna read it (though it's probably not very good since it's my first proper lemon [?]) you can find it on AO3 under **flippednique**. Just google it, it'll show up.

**2**) This was a challenge fic my good friend Jellydonut16 prompted me to do. Last Saturday after CAT training she told me that most Sasori/Deidara fics that she read included a bottom!Deidara. I told her I'd make a bottom!Sasori fic if she made me a Gaara/Sasuke fic where it's bottom!Sasuke. I know that without the lemon you can't really tell who's dominant or submissive but I'll tell you having Sasori be submissive is really hard compared to Deidara since he's so easy going you can manipulate him into doing things submissively. But I think I met the challenge with this whooper. I really do.

**3**) The sudden incorporation of pairings (GaaSasu, KibaNaru, KisaIta) was totally unexpected. Even I shocked myself with that especially Naruto and Kiba!

**4**) I don't really write Naruto even though I've probably read every NaruSasu fic on the fandom so the characters might be a little more out of it than your usual whack-fic. I apologize for that vehemently.

**5**) I am pretty proud of this. I think I did well. It hasn't been BETAed so excuse any error you find. Leave me your thoughts though, especially concrit!

**- Nique**


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